The Chariot of God
by Wavelet365
Summary: Louise summons a TARDIS: the space time continuum may not survive this.


**The Chariot of God**

Disclaimer: I do not own either Doctor Who or Familiar of Zero.

**Prologue**

For ages uncounted, she had drifted alone at the edges of time and space. Her sisters and brothers were all long gone. Her pilot – who had been with her since her infancy – had died long ago.

She had only a little power left, but what use was power to her? Her kind had faded away – forgotten and no longer needed – in a time which not even the universe remembered anymore. She had lived alone for so long. Perhaps, after all this time, it would not be so horrible to simply fade away: to join the rest of her kindred.

"... vant... universe, my... I wish... appear!"

Tired as she was, and faint as the first call was, she barely heard it. The second call was somewhat clearer, and, admittedly, she was listening for it a bit harder when the vortex reappeared near her a moment later. It had been so long since the last time anything interesting had happened here.

"My servant... within this... my divine, beautiful, wise... my call. I wish from the very... heart for you... appear!"

It was a plea: an earnest, heartfelt plea for her. Since her pilot's death, no one had ever looked for her or asked for her. No one had even deigned to notice that she existed. Deep within her, a strange feeling welled up. She didn't want it to end yet: not so long as there was someone else out there who still wanted to see her.

She was just beginning to fire up her engines when the portal vanished. For a moment, she felt bereft. She had waited too long and lost her chance. She could not even manage a tiny jump through the time vortex with the little artron energy she had left. Then, before she had even powered down her engines again, that familiar green tear in the fabric of space-time appeared one more time, the voice of her summoner booming through her telepathic circuits.

"My servant that exists somewhere within this vast universe, my divine, beautiful, wise and powerful servant, heed my call. I wish from very bottom of my heart for you to appear!"

With an eagerness she had not felt in ages uncounted, the last Type 70 TARDIS sped into the green vortex. For the first time since her pilot's death so long ago, she was needed again.

Louise de la Valliere was not quite sure what she should make of her familiar. She had summoned something: that much was indisputable. However, the something she had summoned seemed to be a tree.

"Professor Colbert?" she asked, hoping that her instructor might be able to offer some guidance.

Unfortunately, her professor was wearing an expression which seemed both puzzled at her familiar and intrigued at once. Adjusting his glasses in order to get a better look at Louise's tree, the bald, fire mage did not even seem to realize that she had spoken.

"Professor Colbert?" she tried a second time, this time more stridently.

"Oh. Uh, um, yes, Ms. Valliere," the professor replied, finally acknowledging her. "An oak tree is a bit of an unusual familiar, but I see no reason not to go through with the rest of the ceremony. Please continue."

Louise simply nodded, raising her wand and squaring her soldiers.

"Pentagon of the five elemental powers, bless this humble being, and make it my familiar."

Then, the young mage pressed her lips to her familiar's trunk. As she stepped back from her familiar, having completed the ritual, Louise was a bit startled when her tree briefly began to shimmer and blur. Such a reaction was not normally part of the familiar binding ceremony. However, after a few seconds, that distortion cleared away to reveal that her tree's familiar runes had carved themselves into its bark.

"Well done, Ms. Valliere," Colbert offered encouragingly. "While you failed twice at summoning a familiar, you seem to have succeeded in establishing a contract with your familiar on your first try."

The words warmed Louise, but only a little bit.

She had told that infuriating Germanian, Kirche, and Montmorency that she would summon the greatest familiar of them all, but, instead, she seemed to have summoned a tree. What exactly was she to do with a tree as her familiar? It certainly couldn't collect reagents for her or protect her in any meaningful way, and what would happen when she had to leave the academy? Would she need to try having it replanted at her parents' estate?

Well, at least she had gotten some kind of familiar, so she would not be expelled from the academy. She had proven that she was not a zero. Her familiar might even help her discover her element. She would guess that a tree meant earth, but she would have to ask someone more knowledgeable if she wanted to be certain.

As she walked back to class, following her levitating classmates on the ground, Louise managed a smile, despite her classmates' taunts at her inability to fly. Already, she could feel her familiar's presence – curious and warm – gently bumping against her mind like an eager puppy. She was not quite sure how to reply, but, for now, that did not matter. Conscious mental contact between a master and her familiar was supposed to be an advanced skill, which even powerful mages sometimes struggled to learn. Even better, it was a comforting reminder that, even if her familiar was just a tree, she was not alone anymore.


End file.
